I Can't Get You Out of My Head
by bailford
Summary: Hermione is going to spend a summer at the Burrow like usual, but before she leaves, she runs into a very hot-looking Fred working at a shoe store in muggle London to pay the WWW renovation bills, at least from what Hermione can see. He isn't at the Burrow much on account of him working so often, but Hermione just can't seem to stop thinking about him. Who knows what will happen..
1. Chapter 1

-1-

Hermione woke up in a dead sweat, breathing heavily. She looked at her surroundings and sighed, _Just another bad dream_, she thought. Ever since Voldemort had been defeated in their sixth year, Hermione had been having recurring nightmares, of people dying, of the Order, of Harry and Ron. Granted, not one of her family members, or friends, or members of the Order had been harmed in the war, and what was causing these nightmares was a mystery to her. Sometimes she thought if was just her imagining what could have happened, what could have been, almost reminding her how lucky she was. But dreams couldn't possibly be as deep as that, could they?

Hermione worriedly, looked at her clock, 6:30 AM. She was never going to fall back asleep again; it was becoming harder for her to sleep at all anymore. After all, it was only the first week back from Hogwarts, and she was having withdrawal symptoms, from both her best friends, and the only place she felt like she belonged, except that spiteful ferret. If he could just leave and get out of her life, she would have a better chance at having a normal, teenage life. At least as normal as you could get having magical powers and going to a school normal muggles couldn't see. You know, that kind of normal.

She walked downstairs, past her parent's empty bedroom, down the main hallway, into the kitchen. She was in the middle of pouring herself a bowl of Cap 'n' Crunch when a little bird slammed against the kitchen window.

"Pig? You ridiculous animal, get in the house." Hermione whispered when she opened the window. The little owl grudgingly replied and flew into the kitchen, landed plop in the middle of Hermione's bowl of cereal. Luckily she hadn't poured the milk yet. "Get your feet out of my food and give me the letter." Pig stuck his leg out and Hermione thankfully untied the letter.

_Hermione,_

_Hey, it's your mate Ron-although I'm sure you figured that out once you saw a little owl hit the window, aye? Sorry about that, by the way, and you might want to clear that smudge up before you parents have a conniption. You don't have to have that happen more than once before you figure out the bird's too stupid to swallow his own saliva. But on a lighter note, Mum and Dad said I can have you and Harry over for the summer, you know, seeing as it's our last year of Hogwarts. Of course, we'll always be friends, but you know how these things work. We're picking up Harry, because of his Aunt and Uncle and on account of they won't let them go. We could pick you up too or you could just come by floo. We're picking Harry up tomorrow at 12:00. Let me know if you can make it and the route of transportation you'll be taking._

_Love,_

_Ron niekins_

_P.S. That was not me, that was Fred. Please don't call me Ronniekins. I just found out the hard way the ink does not leave the parchment. Thanks Fred._

Hermione giggled a little, poor Ron, having two tortuous brothers; how he could even stand them she would never know. Well actually they were quite cute, but they were like brothers to her. She quickly scrawled back:

_Ron,_

_Seeing as how I'm in a big need of my best friends right now-already having withdrawal symptoms-I'd love to come and visit you. My parents will be gone all summer, with work and I won't be seeing them much anyways, I'll talk to them when they get back from work tonight. And I'll be arriving by floo, with all of my junk. I'll see you tomorrow then._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

_P.S. Tell Fred I thought it was a bit funny, but that he is a horrible brother. And thank you Captain Obvious for your brilliant observation. I never would have thought that ink wasn't erasable. Now I know why they call it PERMANENT._

Hermione tied the letter to Pig's leg, sent him out the window and closed it. It was a bit chilly this morning. Hermione wasn't much in the mood for cereal anymore. It was one of the mornings where you might be sitting down to eat breakfast, but have this feeling in the pit of your stomach that something big was going to happen, even though nothing ever does. And she couldn't eat with such an unsettling feeling. She slowly walked upstairs and changed into a pair of yoga pants, some tennis shoes and a tight-fitting t-shirt, grabbed a sweatshirt and her ipod and walked downstairs. She found a hair tie on the kitchen counter and wrapper her hair in a loose bun. She put her sweatshirt on, and grabbed the bottle of water and the house keys.

Once she was outside, she started jogging. The endorphins kicked in almost immediately. She loved the smell of the air after a good rain, and feel of the wind on her sticky face, the burning sensation in her legs. She loved the sound of her tennis shoes on the ground, the only thing moving for miles and miles. She had a special path through the woods that barely anyone ever walked, so she was by herself. This was one time she didn't mind the solitude, and being alone. Running was her only get away, the only freedom from her tribulations. She got to a creek, and stopped. This was her favorite spot to think. She climbed over the rocks until she reached the gigantic rock in the middle, she was miles from her house, and no one lived around here.

She jogged the rest of the way home, and quickly shut the front door behind her. She dragged herself upstairs and turned on the shower. She put her ipod away in her room and walked back to the bathroom where steam was billowing out of the doorway. She walked in and closed the door and stood their, watching her reflection condense in the mirror until she was no longer visible, and then got into the shower.

When she got out of the shower, feeling refreshed and in a much better mood, she wrapped herself in a towel while one was on her head and looked for something to wear. The weather was a little warmer, so she decided on a pair of tight jeggings with a cute short-sleeve v-neck shirt that showed her curves and a cute, but light, scarf. She pulled on some of her favorite light tan riding boots and walked into the bathroom to start hairapy. She hung her towels up and begin to brush her untamed curls into a tamed mess and then she put a few dabs of different kinds of anti frizz, fly-aways, hairspray and leave-in conditioner into her hands and rubbed them into her still wet hair. She turned her head upside down and blow dried her hair. She plugged in her straightened and straightened until she had gotten in just perfect. She tapped her head with her wand, lengthened and evened out the tips a little (since she was now legally 17 and in her last year of Hogwarts). Her hair complied and it was now a lovely shade of honey brown, de-frizzed and just past her shoulder blades with side bangs and a cute layered cut. _This should last me a week or two before I have to do this again,_ She thought to herself. She combed through her hair once more, grabbed her tan Longchampe bag, threw on her tortoise shell RayBans and hopped into her new black Mercedes G Class and drove out of the driveway humming along to the song on the radio.

Now, granted, Hermione's parents weren't rich, but they had a great deal of money by muggle standards, being the best dentists in the UK, that is. Hermione turned a round-a-bout and came out on a small countryside lane where she was on her way to main street to go shopping before she left. She knew better than anyone that boys hated to shop, and they would never let her get anything done while she was there, so she decided to make a stop today, before she left tomorrow.

She locked her car and walked along the busy buildings until she found one of her favorite shops, Republic. She spent a few hours shopping before she started being weighed down by the number of bags she was carrying and stopped to drop the bags off at her car. She was looking around and decided to also buy a football so she could finally teach the boys a thing or two about the game. She also grabbed a new soccer ball-so she could finally teach Ron about the UK's most popular muggle sport.

When she was satisfied, she was on her way back to the car when she passed a shoe store, tempting herself not to go again, she couldn't control the urge to just take a peek. She walked in, and was looking through the displays of UGGs when a drawling voice came from behind her, "Miss, d'you need help with anything?" Hermione turned around to give him a polite reply when she nearly shit herself.


	2. Chapter 2

-2-

"Hermione?" Inquired a slightly puzzled looking boy.

"Fred? What on Earth are you doing here? Don't tell me Weasley's didn't work out." Hermione said, equally confused.

"Nah, just needed the extra money to revamp the store, needs a bit of a pick-me-up seeing as the building was all we could afford for now and it is a piece of junk. Figured it might mean more if we went about it the muggle way. Plus, nothing like a nice long day of the ladies. George is jealous he couldn't be here. Especially to see you." Fred laughed and then watched a pretty young girl walk by.

"So how many dates have you gotten?" Hermione asked.

"Uhm…well…the thing is, the girls don't really appreciate all I have to offer, and needless to say, my manager threatened to fire me if I didn't stop harassing the costumers. I didn't even do anything except ask them if they needed help and maybe wanted to grab a cup of coffee." Fred replied looking guiltily at Hermione.

"That's the thing. Girls like being asked out, but what if they had boyfriends, it makes things a bit awkward doesn't it? So, next time, joke around first, before you get to the nitty gritty and if she looks like she's rushing don't push it or you'll chase away every girl who comes in here, and then you definitely won't have a job. But I'd like to buy one pair of each of these shoes and then I'll be out of your hair." Hermione said confidently, although she inwardly asked herself why she just gave Fred girl advice. _You have had a crush on this idiot for years and you're giving him tips on how to pick up other girls. What are you doing?_

Hermione hung around for an hour or so and accumulated a healthy pile of show boxes. "Wow, Hermione are you feeling okay? Since when do you shop?"

"Since you all started seeing me as a girl you prat, now ring up the shoes before I go shop somewhere else," she smirked at him.

"Alright, alright, no need to get fussy, I'm going," Fred began to help her put the shoes back in the boxes so they could be rung up for her.

"Thank you." They exchanged a few silent glances, and she could feel Fred's eyes on her as they boxed up the last two pairs.

"Hermione, I –"

"WEASLEY!" There was a shout and a little man came rushing over, "You aren't harassing customers again are you?"

Hermione butted in before Fred could respond, "I beg your pardon sir, but Fred Weasley is excellent. And unless you want me to return the astronomical number of shoes I just purchased and take back Fred and your commission, shut your mouth. I shop here all the time, and Fred has given me more help than anyone ever has. Unless you'd rather me find a new shoe store to shop at and Fred a new job, I suggest you leave him be, as I can't imagine you having anything of merit or intelligence to say. Thank you." The little man spluttered around like he was about to make a heinous retort to her comment but decided against that and quickly turned around and left.

Fred looked at her in complete awe, mouth agape, and hands hanging in thin air.

"Wow, have I actually rendered THE Fred Weasley speechless? That is a first." That snapped him out of it.

"Hermione, that was the coolest and most amazing thing you or anyone has ever said to me. Thank you so much!" Fred picked her up and spun her around, careful not to run her into any of the shoe racks. He set her down and they made brief eye contact. Hermione smiled and made to give Fred a hug goodbye. As she was walking away Fred ran up to her, "Go out with me. Tonight. So I can repay you and we can catch up, please. I promise I will make it worth your while. Oh wait, you don't have a boyfriend do you? A good friend told me that I needed to learn to get to know girls before asking them out."

Hermione just laughed and shook her head no.

"No to the date or the boyfriend?"

"No to the boyfriend, but I am saying yes to the date." Hermione was swooning and Fred had no idea. "I'd love to Fred Weasley."

"Excellent! I think I remember where your parent's house is. I will be there at 6:30 sharp," he yelled back at her with a wink.

Hermione dragged her bags out to her car and added them to the pile in the trunk. She got in the front seat of the car, and was about to start it when she spotted a little boutique and squealed. She walked in, there were shelves of sunglasses, scarves, belts, jewelry, and a few tables and chairs for manicures and pedicures. Hermione, feeling it couldn't hurt and knowing she still had a few ours, picked out variety of accessories, and then asked for an eyebrow wax, bikini wax, facial treatment, mani and pedi.

She relaxed into her chair as she was being touched from all angles and marveled at how good it felt. _I must remember this for future reference to make sure my next boyfriend knows how to massage. _By the time they were done with the waxing, Hermione could barely walk, and she didn't know if it was from how relaxed she had gotten or by how badly her legs hurt.

"That's just what I needed to get my mind off of things." She muttered to herself. She kissed her newly French-tipped fingernails and started the car. She turned the radio on and a cliché new pop hit started blasting through the speakers as she made her way home.

She pulled into her driveway, surprised to see her parents back early. It was only 5:00, normally they weren't home until much later. Hermione stuck her head in the trunk and shrunk her bags to fit in her purse and headed inside. Her mom was busy cooking dinner, and her dad was reading at the kitchen table. She stopped to kiss them both on the cheek before heading up to her room with her purchases. She came back downstairs afterward to tell her mom of the events that transpired at the mall.

"Mom, I was at the mall today, and ran into Fred Weasley. And he asked me on a date for this evening." At this, both her parents stopped and looked at her. "You know, Ron's brother. He's rather nice, and handsome, and I am really looking forward to it."

Her mom smiled, and her father scowled. "Dear, as long as it makes you happy, we will support you no matter what, right honey?" Hermione hugged her mom again, and smiled. "Now, what time are you going on this date? And what time are the boys and Ginny picking you up tomorrow?"

Hermione ran upstairs to begin putting her clothing away and ss soon as she reached the second floor landing, she scrambled to open the door to her room, where she was greeted by the untimely sight of Pig.

"Pig, come here you silly bird." Pig, obediently flew over to Hermione with a letter attached to his leg.

_Hermione,_

_That's perfect. I'll see you tomorrow!_

_Ron_

Hermione heard her mom call her from downstairs just as she shut the window.

"Yes Mum?"

"These just came for you, dear," and she handed her a bouquet of beautiful lilies.

Hermione smiled and looked at the card: _Hermione, Looking forward to tonight. Remember, 6:30. Fred_, "Oh Fred, silly boy." She giggled to herself and then began to get ready for the evening.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so thanks for the reviews guys, and I did get a request for a description of how hot and hunky Fred is, so I figured I will do that here when he comes to pick her up for her date. Before there was a flurry of shopping activities and now he is coming to pick her up, and they are both dying of anticipation. I will also try to include a little of Fred's point of view during their date at least, so you can see it from him too.**

-3-

_Bloody hell, what the fuck am I going to wear? Nothing I have in my closet will be suitable for a date with Hermione and I don't even know where I am taking her. Oh, I'll need reservations won't I? I am so unprepared. I can't believe she said yes. I wanted to her ask, man did I want to. But I don't think I was prepared for a positive response. So, now I am going to look like the complete prat that she probably thinks I am because I can't even set up and take her out on fucking date. Oh god. _

Fred was pacing around his room.

"Oi, stop running around in there or I'll have to come settle things myself. What the fuck is going on there anyway? You have to wee?" George called from their living room.

Fred peeked his head around his door to yell at George. "Fuck off mate, I'm trying to find something to wear. I've somehow managed to get myself for a date this evening and now I am going to fuck it all up because I don't have bloody anything to wear when I work at a place that sells clothing. I am an idiot. I should have bought something after work."

"Woah, woah. Why didn't I know about this? With who? And how much time have we got to make you look beautiful dear brother?" George said cheekily.

"Well it's Hermione. I ran into her at the shoe store today, and George, I don't know what happened to her or if I just never noticed before, but I didn't even know what to do I was so nervous. And you know, the Weasley twins don't do nervous. It's weird, I've never thought about it like that and this really isn't even a date, I'm just trying to thank her for yelling at my boss for me, but it kind of is, and I just don't want to disappoint her, that could make things awkward at family dinners," Fred said. "And I'm picking her up at 6:30."

"Bloody hell, you're whipped already. And also, everyone has always known Hermione is beautiful, leave it to you to be oblivious to that fact, but mate you're one lucky son of a bitch and you better not mess this up or Mum, Ronniekins, and Harry will all beat you. But I'll help you." George replied.

"Yeah yeah I know, but I'm most scared about –" Fred said, and George finished his sentence. "Mum. I know, that lady scares me too but she's an angel really."

George spent the next hour helping George tame his mangy, in his opinion, hair, and fix the collar of his shirt and all the nitty gritty details with his clothing and shoes, and even down to his cologne.

"Oh, you look like a blooming bride. I'm so proud of my work," George giggled and earned a glare and punch from Fred.

"Shut it or I'll sabotage your next date with Angelina," Fred tried to be serious and failed.

"Oh no, not Angelina!" George pretended to make a scared face and laughed along with Fred. "Mate, if she hasn't run away by now, you won't scare her off. Speaking of, she's coming over, don't know when yet or how long she'll be staying but if you'd like to stay out late, I will not be complaining. But you need to go now if you're going to be on time. Good luck brother."

Fred saluted him and then stepped out the door to apparate to Hermione's house. He knocked on the front door and Mr. Granger let him in. "Ah Fred, we've been expecting you. Hermione is almost ready. Make yourself at home."

"Thanks Mr. Granger," Fred said and stepped inside. "And Mrs. Granger," he said as he rounded the corner to the living area.

_Okay Hermione, deep breaths, don't panic. You've got this. Think, if you were a boy, what part of you would want to see the most? Uhh… we'll go with butt this time. If we're having dinner I don't want him staring at my boobs all night. _

She kept thinking about what she wanted to wear while she was taming her hair and curling it again into nice light curls that fell naturally beyond the middle of her back. She clipped back one side with a thick turquoise bobby bin. She put on some light shimmery makeup, some shiny gloss and then walked into her closet.

She finally settled on a beautiful short black dress that accentuated her butt, covered her boobs, showed some skin through a sheer V in the back, and had only one sleeve. She picked out a pair of her favorite tan wedge-heels and shoved what little things she needed into a wristlet and went to her jewelry box. Settling on some dangling diamond sheet earrings, a chunky turquoise bracelet on her upper arm that had no sleeve and a long silver necklace.

She could hear muffled talking as she rounded the corner and that's when she said Fred stand up and was literally speechless, like the wind had been knocked out of her. His only slightly long hair look disheveled in a "I was just recently shagged" and rumpled kind of way that was just devilishly sexy. Hermione felt her hand twitch at the idea of running her fingers through it sometime. She made her way to his eyes, beautiful and sparkling green as always and she got lost in his adorably sexy freckles on the way to his mouth, where she stopped. _Have I just never noticed those lips before? They're delicious-looking. God, I just want to bite them._ Hermione noticeably blushed at this and she saw Fred raise an eyebrow. She continued to admire the way his adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed, she died when she got to his muscular shoulders and arms that she just wanted wrapped around her. She stared longer than necessary at his defined torso, which she could see the outline of through his shirt. And then she stopped and sucked in an involuntary breath because just a small portion of his briefs were peaking out above the top of his jeans and they clung to his skin like they were never letting go. Right where his shirt was raised up she could see the defined and muscular v of his hips that disappeared beneath his low-slung jeans in a way that was just sinful and tested Hermione's self-control. His stature, much taller than hers required her to look up after her thorough appraisal of him and he smiled at her and leaned in to put his mouth to her ear.

"You look beautiful Hermione, breathtaking," Fred whispered in her ear. "I don't know how I got so lucky tonight."

Before she could stop herself, "Because you look like that."

Fred chuckled as he pulled away and then held out his hand to her. "Ready?"

"Yes, of course. Sorry for making you wait."

"Ah, it was just a few minutes and your parents were really great."

"Speaking of…" Hermione turned around after being lost in her own world, "Bye Mom, bye Dad! Don't wait up tonight. I'll see you later!" They waved, chuckling at the sweetness of the two together.

"Bye sweetheart!"

As they walked away Fred could hardly concentrate.

_I can't believe I managed up words to speak. I don't think I've ever seen a sexier woman in my life. I'm doomed, literally doomed. She has no idea what sort of self control it is taking right now not to push her against the wall and take her here and now. _

Fred took her to an Italian place down the road from his flat, and they spent hours there talking and just enjoying the company, even after the food and dessert were gone. They talked about Fred and George's business, Hermione going back to school, the future, their families, everything. They had never been alone long enough to ever talk to one another that way in the first place, through school they had each always had their own groups of friends. "Hey, are your feet up for a little walking?" Fred asked her as the night started to wind down.

"Yeah, absolutely. That'd be nice. It's too nice out not to go out and enjoy this weather!" Hermione said as Fred began to help her up. He offered her is hand and laced them together. As they walked out, a few of the girls from the restaurant gawked at him and Hermione just leaned into him a bit more. It didn't go unnoticed by anyone, including Fred, who just smirked in his triumph. They walked around the neighborhood park for a little while and settled on a bench.

"Listen, I'm just going to be honest with you Hermione," Fred started and Hermione prepared herself for the worst. "I don't know what I did to that made you say yes, and I still am reeling over the fact that you actually did. Before now I had always just seen you as Hermione my little brother's best friend, and so completely beyond my level of intelligence it is almost scary, but I don't anymore. I don't think about you like that at all." Hermione looked questioning, and a little hurt, when Fred realized how that came out. "Uh, I mean that came out wrong, I still think of you in those ways, but I see you in a different light, I'm seeing this romantic and playful side of you I have never had the chance to see before now, and it's irresistible, I can't get enough of you. I'd love to go out with you again, preferably as many times as possible before you leave for school, if you'll have me. I know I'm an annoying miserable prat but if you just give me a chance, I promise I'll give it my best effort to sweep you off your feet Ms. Granger."

Hermione just laughed at his admission. "What, you're laughing at me now? You are going to get it. No one makes fun of Fred Weasley. And after I dressed up for you and –"

"Fred, you didn't let me respond. I was laughing because that was absurdly adorable. For one thing, I've always had a little crush on you, so it shouldn't come as a surprise. You are very talented, so I would never consider myself above you, or anyone for that matter. I'd love to see you again, as many times as you'll ask me, because I'll be staying at the Burrow starting tomorrow anyways," Hermione finished. "Oh, and you're not a miserable prat, but I might change my mind if you don't kiss me right now." She regretted saying the last part as soon as she saw the smirk on Fred's face. She blushed furiously and then tried to stand up, but Fred immediately kept her from moving.

Fred grinned and looked at her. "Well, I can't have you tarnishing my impeccable reputation now can I?" He chuckled and leaned in to capture her lips between his and almost couldn't control the sound that almost emerged from his mouth from the contact.


	4. Chapter 4

**I am deeply sorry for how long it has taken me to update, but I have been seriously busy the past few months. But as I am now bed-ridden with the flu, I thought that perhaps this would be the best time to update my stories, since I actually have time to sit down and write for leisure. I'll make this a long one. (: **

-4-

They finally broke for air, and Hermione's hands untangled themselves from Fred's wild mane of hair, and Fred's hand wrapped around the back of Hermione's slim neck pulled her head close enough so he could touch their foreheads together.

"You are an amazing woman Hermione," Fred whispered to her. "But I have to say, I was not expecting a kiss like that from you." He chuckled when Hermione swatted him on the arm.

"What, you doubted the superiority of my kissing abilities? You twat, see if I ever kiss you again," she was smiling, and made a move to get up, but still Fred held her down.

Fred looked at her seriously, "I'm really only joking. I'm ruined for any other woman because of that kiss, please don't deprive me 'Mione." She smiled at him and gave him a soft peck on the lips.

"I don't want to cut the night short Fred, but I've really got to get home," Hermione said.

"Ah, you're right. Well, let's go then!"

The two apparated back to Hermione's parents home, and Fred walked her slowly to the door, relishing the last few moments he could breathe in her perfume, or feel her hand in his.

"I don't really want to let you go, but I know I have to. When can I see you next?" He asked her eagerly.

"I will be at your house officially tomorrow, and it is summer," she giggled. "You will see me, don't worry. Why don't you come home for dinner tomorrow and we can hang out afterwards."

"Mom'll be pleased about that, but I'll let her think it was just because I missed her."

Hermione smiled at that and moved to open her door. But she changed her mind and turned around to hug Fred tightly around his midsection, as that was the only thing she could reach. Fred wrapped his arms around her and leaned down. She began to pull away, so he reached under her chin to tilt her head up and planted a chaste, but wonderful kiss on her lips before she turned around to open the door.

_There are a lot of things lately that have had me running in circles, a lot of things I don't understand. But one thing I know for certain is that that beautiful woman has completely shattered me for any other woman. She's got me absolutely hooked, and I don't even deserve her. _

When Fred arrived back at his and George's flat, George popped his head around the corner and whistled, as Fred didn't even notice him.

"Oi, lover boy, how'd it go?" Neither his appearance nor speech elicited a response from Fred, so he added, "Was it that bad or that good?"

Fred finally looked up, with a dazed look, "It was that good, Georgie."

"Oh bloody hell. Now you've got yourself all in love," George balked at this.

"I haven't. It was just a really good date is all… George, she's perfect, how could I not come back in a haze? I can't believe I never noticed it before, she's just so pleasant to be around, and beautiful."

"You're in deep, dear brother. Has she agreed to see you again?"

"Yeah, I'm going to dinner at the house tomorrow. She's spending the summer with Harry and Ron again, so I'm going to hang out with her after dinner, hopefully. It's not like mom is going to object to me being there."

"Well half the battle is already won if she wants to see you again. That is a good sign!" But George's grin faltered. "Wait, if you're going to dinner that means I'm going to have to go to dinner, doesn't it? Shit Fred, I'll do it for you but I can't handle our crazy mom, or that crazy house as much as I used to now that we've got our own place. You're so lucky you're my favorite twin."

"I'm your only twin, you twat." They smiled their trademark grin at this, hit each other a bit, and then headed off to their respective rooms for sleep.

Hermione awoke the next morning to a beautiful morning sun, and stretched before getting out of bed to begin getting ready for her move over to the Burrow. She ensured she had all the clothes she wanted to bring, her robes, her books, and all the magical supplies she would need for class. By the time she had packed all that up, and finally been able to wrestle Crookshanks into his cage, she was a sweaty mess and tried to freshen up in the bathroom.

"Hermione! Ginny, Ron, and Harry are here to collect you!" She heard her mother shout from down the stairwell.

"Alright, I'll be right down!" She exited the bathroom when she thought she could salvage no more of her appearance, straightened her clothes, and walked out into her bedroom. She grabbed the handle of her trunk and picked up Crookshanks' carrying cage and began to pull the items out of her room.

"Harry? Ron? Can I have a little help please?" She called down to them. Their heads peaked around the corner to see her huffing her way along the corridor.

"Oh, yeah, sorry 'Mione." Harry and Ron laughed a little at her but easily picked up the trunk and brought it down the stairs and outside. Hermione greeted the boys and Ginny officially, and said goodbye to her parents, promising to write them.

They all got outside, and Hermione looked at the boys, "How are we getting to the Burrow?" Then all three turned and looked sheepishly at her.

Ginny began, "Uhh… Herms, on account of having such good weather today, we all wanted to fly. Soo, you'll be sharing a broomstick with one of us, and we're going to fly back to the Burrow."

"NO! I will not. You all know I have a fear of flying."

"But this way will be much faster and you know we're all really experienced flyers. Please, Hermione," Ron begged.

Realizing that there was no other way out of this, she said indignantly, "Fine, I'll be riding with Harry then, since his broom can support the most weight, but I'm not gonna like it, and you are never doing this to me again." She shrunk her trunk and put it in her pocket and then handed Crookshanks' cage to Ginny to attach to her broom.

With shaking hands, Hermione grasped the handles on Harry's broomstick as tightly as she could and tucked her feet under her. She felt the weight of him behind her and knew the broom was about to be airborne. He kicked off the ground and Hermione instantly shut her eyes, keeping them closed as tightly as possible. She never loosened her grip on the handle or uncrossed her legs until she felt them land on solid ground at the Burrow. Her muscles had been clenched so tightly around the broomstick that by the time they arrived, Hermione literally slid off the broom onto the ground, completely worn out and shaken.

"What'd you wankers do to her? She looks like she just narrowly escaped a near death experience," Fred said as he appeared in the doorway, after waiting for the four to finally make their appearance.

"Hey, it is not our fault... well, actually it is, she just has a horrible fear of flying. But, thinking that she didn't still feel that way, or that she would be okay with the idea of flying with one of us, we flew to her house to get her instead of taking another route of transportation," Harry explained while trying to peel Hermione off the ground.

"Well, I wouldn't be in this situation if you guys would have just thought about it before you came to get me, or at least asked me for goodness sake." She glanced at Fred, embarrassed that he had seen her in the aftermath of all her glorious fear, and then looked at her shoes once she was fully upright.

Ginny, Ron and Harry shrugged, one of them mumbling something along the lines of, "You should really just learn to fly better…" When they caught a glare from Hermione, they all began to busily gather up their brooms and Crookshanks and take them into the house.

Fred took a glance at Hermione and walked closer to her. "You okay 'Mione? You still look a bit shaken."

She shook her head, biting her lip, knowing that she was about to cry, but she didn't want Fred to see her. _Please don't cry, please don't cry in front of Fred. Just hold the tears in, it isn't that big of a deal. You're safe, and you're hanging out with Fred tonight, stop it. No tears. _

Fred, not that he was an expert on women, saw the signs and walked so he was within arms length of her, holding his arms out open in front of him, gesturing for her to enter them. "Come here." That was all it took for Hermione to wrap herself in his arms and let a few tears fall.

"What's made you so scared to fly?"

"Well, for starters it is a little embarrassing because it is one of the few things I didn't pick up immediately or excel at in school. I only just passed those lessons with Hooch, not that they could have picked someone more intimidating for the job," she smiled when Fred laughed at this and so looked up at him. "But it's just scary for me, I feel like I'm out of control, and that at any moment, I could be plummeting towards the ground without a single thing to stop me. I just don't feel confident on a broom, and nothing has seemed to help that fear, even riding with Harry or Ron."

"Well maybe it is just because they don't really think about the fact that you're with them," he said, and then he paused and looked at her thoughtfully. "Come for a ride with me tonight. I promise you, by the end of this summer, you won't hate flying anymore." Hermione looked hesitant. "You can trust me, Hermione."

She looked directly in his eyes, but knew before he'd even had to say it that she already trusted him. She nodded her head almost imperceptibly but Fred smiled because he had been paying attention. He wiped the tears off her cheeks and held her there, kissing her sweetly. "No more tears okay?" She nodded again, this time definitively and smiled at him.

This entire scene took place just outside the kitchen window, where Mrs. Weasley looked on with a great interest at the interaction. She smiled knowingly, excited that one of her boys finally recognized Hermione as the wonderful young woman she was, and began to hum a nondescript song to herself while cooking as the two finally made their way back inside to make sure they knew she didn't see them.


	5. Chapter 5

-5-

Hermione, Ron, and Harry spent much of their next couple weeks relaxing at the Burrow and preparing themselves for their final year of school. They had all decided to return – not only because the boys needed to attend in order to become aurors, but also because Hermione just couldn't resist the possibility of becoming Head Girl, something she'd been waiting for since she first attended Hogwarts.

One day the motley crew planned a trip to the lake that existed just beyond the Weasley's house on the outskirts of a tranquil forest. They had only just reached their destination and set up camp when the boys had already begun to splash around, with Ginny in tow kicking and screaming of course. Hermione could sense the tension between Harry and Ginny, and made a note to later ask Ginny about it. Ron, of course, was oblivious to anything going on between the two of them, because he was always oblivious.

Hermione had finally situated herself on a towel on the shore and had a book in hand when a shadow was cast over her spot.

"Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter, if you so much as touch me with a drop of water I will ring your scrawny little –" Hermione began to say but paused when she finally looked up at the intruder. All of sudden her face lit up with a bright smile when she saw the freckled face ogling her bikini-clad body appreciatively.

Fred chuckled and bent down so they were both at the same level to give her a quick peck while no one was looking.

"I've missed you 'Mione," Fred whispered to her. "Come out with me tonight after dinner, please."

"Fred, it's only been a few days since you saw me at family dinner," Hermione said, remembering the night fondly. They had taken a stroll around the house, talking and holding hands like they'd usually done. Of course, kissing was involved; neither of them could get enough of one another. "But, given that you said please, I suppose I could spare an evening for you."

"Splendid, I've got something really great planned for us," Fred smiled and said to her. He waved hello to the folks in the water and began to walk away when he turned around and smirked. "Also, if you struggle at any point with what you'd like to wear tonight, that little number you've got on now should do just the trick. You look damn sexy." He winked at the sight of Hermione's scowl, but upon her seeing he was only poking fun, she chuckled and went back to her book.

Fred walked away and tried to control his glee. _Don't jump, don't whoop, and don't clap until she can't see you anymore. You can do it. It's just a normal date, and you've already been on a few with her. You've got this mate; don't do anything too bloody stupid._

"Hermione, what was that about? You've been talking to Fred an awful lot lately, and last time I checked, you thought both him and George were about as mature as dogs," Ginny snickered at her.

"Well, there's something that I actually haven't told you, but you musn't tell anyone Ginny, not until we are ready to," Hermione said.

"We, hmm? Tell me everything."

"I can't right now Ginny, not with the boys here. Let's just hang out now and I'll tell you when we are getting ready for dinner. Is that agreeable to you?" Hermione asked. Hermione could see the scowl beginning on her face, but Ginny nodded anyways, knowing Hermione wouldn't budge once she'd made her mind up about something.

She then followed Hermione into the water to join the boys and they messed around and tanned until it was about time for dinner, talking about nonsense and laughing until their stomachs ached. These were the moments that Hermione was incredibly humbled by; that she entered her first year facing the prospect of having no friends due to her incredible ability to make people feel stupid and her incredible inability to take care of her appearance but was now entering seventh year with some of the best friends and new family members that anyone could ask for was simply amazing to her.

When they had finally pruned as much as a raisin, the gang finally decided to head back to the house, in time to shower and get ready for dinner. When Hermione emerged from the bathroom, she saw a dressed and ready Ginny waiting patiently for her on her bed.

Hermione sighed knowingly, and began to dress and get ready for dinner while she prepared to tell Ginny about her and Fred. "Alright, I might as well start from the beginning, huh?" Hermione asked.

"You know you better not leave any details out!" Ginny exclaimed while nodding her head yes.

Hermione told Ginny everything, not excluding a single kiss, up until the point that he had asked to see her tonight after dinner. Ginny gave a small lovesick sigh.

"Say something Ginny, it's a little hard to gauge what you're thinking right now," Hermione said.

"Oh Hermione, please don't worry about what my family or I will think about this. I don't mean that in a bad way, but we always knew you and Ron weren't meant for each other, as much as you'd always tried to convince yourself of that, and you're practically part of the family anyways. Looking back now at all the taunting and the name-calling between you two, it's a wonder no one ever saw the chemistry before. Hermione, Fred is perfect for you, and I couldn't be happier as long as you're happy and he treats you well!" Ginny exclaimed, trying not to raise her voice too loud. "It's totally up to you who you want to tell and when, but I can guarantee mom already knows about it – and before you object, she just does, she always just knows about things before anyone else picks up on them."

Hermione's face contorted into a look of terror and she said, "She's not going to hate me for wanting to keep it under the radar right now, is she? I just want to wait until things get a little more serious, if they do, before I start telling people. I've never really done this before, not with someone I saw so much potential with, and it's a really nerve-wracking thing."

"You've really got it bad haven't you?" Ginny giggled at her.

"So bad, Gin. I don't even know when it happened. He's just so charming. I've never been charmed before, let alone wined and dined. Ginny, he's just so sweet and, oh my gods I sound totally ridiculous," Hermione squealed in horror.

"Hermione, this is a great thing. Of all the people I know and am close to in my life, you are the one who most deserves happiness. For all the things you do for others so selflessly, and all the god-awful shit you've had to put up with in your 18 years, you need this, and don't you dare convince yourself that you aren't worthy or don't deserve it, because you do. You are not talking yourself out of this, not if I have anything to do with it," Ginny said forcefully, turning Hermione back to the mirror. "Now, let's get you ready for dinner and this date – you are going to knock his socks off!"

Hermione smiled and knew she wasn't getting out of this, so she followed Ginny's command. She turned to the mirror and examined her now frizzy hair that she had been relentlessly running her fingers through during her explanation. Ginny began to work her magic and was so zoned into her work that Hermione couldn't disturb her with questions about Harry; she didn't want to upset her. _That can wait until later_, she thought to herself and settled further into the chair to watch Ginny complete a million spells on her hair that she was never able to accomplish the same way for some reason.


End file.
